Students Strut Their Stuff

April 30, 2012

ST. MARYS — St. Marys Memorial High School students dressed to the nines along with their families and friends packed the high school on Saturday to participate in the chamber’s annual prom promenade.

“The chamber’s been doing it for about 16 or 17 years,” St. Marys Area Chamber of Commerce Director Kelly Kill said. “It’s an opportunity for the kids to shine.”

She added prom promenade is an opportunity for the students to shine and show off all their effort.

“How many times do the kids get to be this prominent in the community,” she said. “It’s awesome for them.”

In the past, prom promenade has been held in Memorial Park, with the students walking through the covered bridge.

“It gives the parents a beautiful opportunity for pictures, when it’s in the park,” Kill said. “It’s a beautiful walk through the park.”

Because of Saturday’s inclement weather forecast — it was supposed to be cold and rainy — prom promenade was moved to the Performing Arts Center at Memorial High School.

“Dave Lewis and I got on the telephone earlier this week to decide what we were going to do,” Kill said. “Rather than ruin the dresses and their hair, we thought we should bring it in here. It is cold and it was supposed to rain, and we didn’t want to chance it.”

Despite the new location, the school was packed with people. In the overflow area in the commons, the promenade was broadcast on the televisions.

“I’m flabbergasted,” Kill said. “This is nice — when it’s in the park, it doesn’t seem like this many people are here.”

She also complimented the girls’ gowns.

“There are some gorgeous dresses,” Kill said. “There’s everything from short to long to poofy to skinny.”

Prom promenade lasted from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Early on in the evening, prom advisers Jennifer Christopher and Kim Strasburg noted they had already given out at least 100 papers with the couples names. They noted there were 186 couples who purchased tickets for Saturday’s event, which was themed “Sugar Rush.”

This years’ prom promenade kicked off with “Sugar Rush” related characters: Willy Wonka, Charlie from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and two Oompa Loompas who were set to be the servers for the evening’s dance.